Pate Brisee (French Shortcrust)

1. Place flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times to mix. Add cubed butter; pulse until crumbly.

2. Pour slow stream of ice water through feed tube while the processor is on low speed until dough holds together when pinched, making sure not to add too much.

3. Divide dough evenly into 2 pieces. Form dough into discs on a lightly floured work surface. Wrap discs with wax paper or parchment paper before wrapping with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until use.

4. Roll dough out on a lightly floured work surface using a lightly floured rolling pin between 2 pieces of parchment paper to desired thickness when ready to use.

5. Butter two 9-inch tart pans. Roll crusts 1 at a time onto the rolling pin and unroll over tart pans. Gently push dough into the prepared pans, molding to the sides. Trim edges with fingers or a knife. Fill and bake according to filling recipe instructions.

Cook's Notes:

This crust is perfect for quick weeknight dessert tarts, dinner quiches, and even pot pies. Use any oven-proof dish in any size, and just pinch off a bit of the crust, form in the dish, and fill!

Thickness of rolled dough can vary depending on what you make; for a more rustic tart in any baking dish, I roughly roll out a thicker crust. For a regular tart pan, I roll the crust to a 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness.